Greece hampers second round of Switzerland negotiations

Progress during the second round of Switzerland negotiations was hindered yesterday due to the insistence of Greece that a solution “is not possible if the guarantees are not completely removed”.

On the first day of the second round of talks to solve the Cyprus problem in Switzerland, it became apparent that the parties were negotiating on a statement by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras relating to the guarantees issue, instead of the territorial issue as originally planned.

During the day there was no discussion on the criteria that constituted the basis for territorial adjustments, as both teams were focussed on addressing the issue of the Greek Prime Minister’s statement.

At the end of the day (20 November), the United Nations was working intensively with Greece and the Greek Cypriot side to form a consensus on the issue. The Turkish Cypriot side sought to clarify whether Greece would attend the five- party conference during which security and guarantees will be discussed.

In the meantime, it emerged that the Greek Cypriot Leader Nicos Anastasiades did not make satisfactory consultations with the Greek political party leaders and Greece Prime Minister Tsipras during the recess following the 11^th of November in Switzerland.

If the issue regarding the Greek Prime Minister’s statement is resolved today, the process in Switzerland will continue on the basis of agreements that have previously been reached – namely, talks on the territory criteria on the map and determination of the date of the five party conference, which will be addressed  simultaneously.

The Turkish Cypriot side is ready to work until the late hours today, and they believe that a result can be achieved in this window. Following the meeting between the Prime Minister of Greece Tsipras and Greek Cypriot Leader Anastasiades last week, Greece put forward the condition of lifting the guarantees in order to attend the five party conference.